The Federal Communications Commission is challenging Disney&#8217;s broadcast licenses as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel.
An <a href="https://x.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2049194436505354626?s=20">FCC official confirmed to The Daily Wire</a> that ABC’s licenses are undergoing an early review, despite the standard renewal process that&#8217;s still several years off. Broadcast stations, including ABC, cannot operate over publicly owned airwaves without FCC licensing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: FCC orders the Walt Disney Company, American Broadcasting Company, and television subsidiaries to file early license renewal applications for their television stations.
&#8220;The FCC has been investigating The Walt Disney Company, its American Broadcasting Company, and its… <a href="https://t.co/8KZzuyMIsX">pic.twitter.com/8KZzuyMIsX</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2049194436505354626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
The FCC has already scrutinized ABC’s broadcast license in connection with the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices. In an April 28 order, David J. Brown, chief of the video division, said the FCC has been investigating the Walt Disney Company for compliance violations.
&#8220;Specifically, the FCC has been investigating Disney’s ABC stations for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules, including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination. While Disney’s ABC has purported to respond to two FCC Letters of Inquiry Federal Communications Commission DA 26-416 2 (LOIs) as part of this investigation, the FCC has determined that additional actions are appropriate at this time,&#8221; Brown said.
&#8220;The FCC determines that calling in Disney’s ABC licenses for early renewal, at this time, under the Communications Act’s public interest standard is essential within the meaning of agency regulations,&#8221; the order stated.
Disney will be required to file renewals for all of its licensed TV stations by May 28, 2026.
A Disney spokesperson confirmed the order and vowed the company will fight it.
&#8220;ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information, and public‑interest programming. We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment, and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels,&#8221; the company said in a statement to The Daily Wire.
If the FCC starts pressuring or reviewing licenses, local ABC stations could be forced to change how they operate — what they air, how they cover stories, even who they hire. That can trickle down into less freedom in programming or more cautious, filtered content. For everyday Americans, it could mean the news and entertainment you see is shaped more by regulatory pressure than just editorial decisions — especially on major networks you already watch every day.
The escalating FCC-Disney feud comes as conservatives called on the network to oust late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for joking that First Lady Melania Trump looked like an “expectant widow” — just days before a gunman attempted to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents&#8217; dinner.
“His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” the First Lady said in a rare rebuke. “People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
“A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him,” she added. “Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community,” she added.
Soon after, the president piled on, saying Kimmel &#8220;should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.&#8221;
In a Monday night monologue, a defiant Kimmel defended his remarks and refused to apologize.
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” he said. “It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination.”
“I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular,” he said. “But I understand that the First Lady had a stressful experience over the weekend … and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”

Jimmy Kimmel

Kimmel Uproar Spills Over, ABC Stations Now Under Review. What It Means For Your TV.

The big media controversy of the day comes courtesy of Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and late-night television host Stephen Colbert.
Talarico insisted that CBS spiked his interview with Stephen Colbert, claiming, “This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see. His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert. Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see.
His FCC refused to air my interview with Stephen Colbert.
Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas. <a href="https://t.co/BCev5jZbKc">pic.twitter.com/BCev5jZbKc</a>
— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) <a href="https://twitter.com/jamestalarico/status/2023659473466687994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @jamestalarico/X.com
Talarico is the probable Senate nominee for the Democrats in Texas and has been highly touted by a wide variety of people across the political spectrum, including Joe Rogan, on whose show he appeared.
But the reason CBS spiked the interview is because they&#8217;re afraid of the so-called Equal Time Rule. The FCC says that in a Senate primary, if you provide time to one candidate, you also have to provide equal time to the other candidates. CBS then said they didn’t want to provide equal time to Talarico’s rivals, including Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett or some other fringe candidate. Colbert then went on the air and ripped into CBS.
At this point, Colbert is hoping that he is fired so he can be treated as a victim — a victim of the Trump administration and their evil acolytes like Larry and David Ellison. Since that is his goal, he is actively attempting to militate for his own dismissal.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2370-dave-chappelle-has-lost-it"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
That is what he is doing right now. So, after the interview, he went on the air and said:
<blockquote>You might have heard of this thing called the Equal Time rule. Okay. It&#8217;s an old FCC rule that applies only to radio on broadcast television, not cable or streaming, that says if a show has a candidate on during an election, they have to have all that candidate&#8217;s opponents on as well. It’s the FCC&#8217;s most time honored rule right after no nipples at the Super Bowl. There&#8217;s long been an exception for this rule, an exception for news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians.
Now that&#8217;s crucial. How else were voters supposed to know back in 92 that Bill Clinton sucked at saxophone? But on January 21 of this year, a letter was released by FCC chairman and smug bowling pin Brendan Carr. In this letter, Carr said he was thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because he said some of them were motivated by partisan purposes. Well, sir, you&#8217;re chairman of the FCC, so FCC you. </blockquote>
Brendan Carr is correct. Colbert is obviously motivated by partisan purposes. When was the last time he had a major Republican guest? Can you name one? When has he invited a major Republican guest on his show and treated that person with the same sort of kid gloves with which he treats Democrats?
Every episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is basically an ad for one Democrat or another. It is MS NOW with some bad jokes.
CBS responded:
<blockquote>THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.</blockquote>
First, Colbert and his team tried to retell the lie that the FCC had overtly banned CBS from airing the interview with Talarico. That was not true. 
Then, he tried to retell the lie that CBS banned the interview because they were afraid of Talarico. And if Colbert hosted Talarico, then presumably he would also have to host a Republican candidate in the Texas Senate race, like Sen. John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton.
That is not what the equal time rule says. In the middle of the primary season, Colbert would have had to host another Democrat, Representative Jasmine Crockett. And the producers of “The Late Show” decided not to promote the interview on the air because then they would have to do the same for other Democrats.
For what it&#8217;s worth, Talarico is basically a straight Pete Buttigieg. That is his entire schtick, down to the Pastor Pete routine.
If you can remember back that far, one of the most irritating facets of the “Pete Buttigieg for President” campaign — and what irritated me most — is when he would suddenly turn into the world&#8217;s worst Sunday School teacher and cite the Bible to say completely non-Biblical things. He would try to explain that the Bible has nothing to say about issues ranging from same-sex marriage to abortion, and that it&#8217;s just a social justice document drafted by the Democratic National Committee.
Now, Talarico is doing the same exact thing. He&#8217;s claiming that you&#8217;re a bad Christian if you believe that same-sex marriage is non-Biblical.
For the record, same-sex marriage is non-Biblical. There are many books of the Bible that reference this, not least of which is Leviticus.
Trying to do the Pastor Pete routine, Talarico declared:
<blockquote>Jesus gave us two commandments: Love God and love neighbor. And there was no exception to that second commandment. Love thy neighbor, regardless of race or gender or sexual orientation or immigration status or religious affiliation. And it&#8217;s why I have fought so hard for the separation of church and state in the state capital in Texas.</blockquote>
When Democrats try to reframe their own religiosity on the basis of “Jesus was a post- religious figure who was in favor of secular humanism” — I may not be a New Testament expert, but it seems to me that Jesus was, in his human form, a Jew growing up under Biblical law, and that Jesus as the creator of Christianity, proceeded to suggest that people ought to follow the precepts of Christianity rather exclusively.
I think that’s a non-controversial take on the Bible.
It&#8217;s amazing how far Democrats have moved in my lifetime. Democrats used to do this routine where they would say, Sure, the Bible says that abortion is bad, Christianity says abortion is bad. There is a long-standing, several thousand years old doctrine that abortion is not approved, that same-sex marriage is not approved, and that homosexual activity is a sin. These are long-standing religious traditions, but we have separation of church and state. In terms of public policy, I don&#8217;t believe in making public policy on the basis of Biblical law, because this is not a theocracy.
That used to be the Democratic stance, which I think is weak when it comes to trying to make peace with Christians, but at least it is arguable. The new Democratic standards are that the Bible is somehow a document that greenlights same-sex marriage and encourages abortion, and if you truly were a Christian, you would be in favor of all these things.
Talarico says, “Love thy neighbor means love thy neighbor, regardless of immigration status or sexual orientation.”
The Bible says you are supposed to love thy neighbor as thyself, but you are not supposed to love his sin. You&#8217;re not supposed to place a stumbling block in front of the blind. There’s the Biblical injunction, which is commonly presumed to mean that you are not supposed to allow your neighbor to go without redress. If he’s sinning, you&#8217;re supposed to warn him.
So, back to CBS: What’s happening at CBS right now is an attempt to scuttle the ownership change at CBS and also target Bari Weiss at CBS News.
It&#8217;s all about virtue signaling for the Democrats. It has nothing to do with reality.
Democratic lawmakers, for their part, are suggesting they&#8217;re now going to investigate CBS. Representative Darren Soto of Florida wrote, “FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s reign on unlawful censorship continues. This time he’s blocking Democratic candidates. @EnergyCommerce Dems will be investigating this outrage. A reckoning is coming.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s reign on unlawful censorship continues. This time he’s blocking Democratic candidates.<a href="https://twitter.com/EnergyCommerce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EnergyCommerce</a> Dems will be investigating this outrage. A reckoning is coming… <a href="https://t.co/56MmbYdfIR">https://t.co/56MmbYdfIR</a>
— Rep. Darren Soto (@RepDarrenSoto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDarrenSoto/status/2023767918023262264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @RepDarrenSoto/X.com
All of this shows you what Democrats are going to do with Congress if they happen to win in 2026, which is to shut everything down.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Talarico, Colbert Cry Censorship As CBS Sets The Record Straight

Ben Shapiro

Bible

Brendan Carr

Democrats

Opinion

Republicans

Stephen Colbert

Television

Texas

“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert is furious that CBS decided not to air an interview he did with Texas representative James Talarico (D) due to “equal time” laws, which require broadcast networks and radio stations to give equal time to all candidates in an election.
Colbert’s show is canceled and will air its last episode in May. But in the meantime, he’s not going quietly as he defied the network’s request that he not bring up the Talarico interview situation. The host threw a hissy fit during his Monday night episode.
&#8220;Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on,&#8221; Colbert said during his show Monday night. &#8220;And because my network clearly doesn&#8217;t want us to talk about this, let&#8217;s talk about this.&#8221;
The “Late Show” host explained the “equal time” rule, which has been in place since the 1930s, and explained why he believed the exceptions made in the 90s should continue forever.
“There’s long been an exception for this rule, an exception for news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians,” Colbert said. “That’s crucial. How else were voters supposed to know back in ’92 that Bill Clinton sucked at saxophone?”
“[FCC chair Brendan Carr] hasn’t done away with [the exceptions] yet, but my network is unilaterally enforcing it as if he had,” the host admitted.
Addressing Carr, he said, “FCC you … because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself, sir. Hey, you smelt it ’cause you dealt it. You are Dutch-ovening America’s airwaves.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Why CBS Didn&#039;t Broadcast Stephen Colbert&#039;s Interview With James Talarico" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oh7DPSP65JA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Let’s just call this what it is. Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV. He’s like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diapers. So it’s no surprise that two of the people most affected by this threat are me and my friend Jimmy Kimmel,” Colbert whined.
Colbert also told the audience that he was posting the interview on his YouTube channel and instructed them to find it there.
During the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ7Pz_59A">interview</a>, Talarico said he believed he was being censored because he had a good chance of winning.
&#8220;I think Donald Trump is worried that we&#8217;re about to flip Texas,&#8221; the Texas rep said. &#8220;This is the party that ran against cancel culture. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top.&#8221;
CBS announced last summer that “The Late Show,” which began in 1993, would conclude this year and not be replaced.
“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” the network said in a statement at the time.
One report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually.

Stephen Colbert Throws Hissy Fit Over CBS Enforcing Equal Time Rule, Nixing Dem Candidate Interview

Entertainment

Politics

The Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-updates-covered-list-add-certain-uas-and-uas-components-0">announced</a> on Monday that it is adding new foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems, including drones and their critical components, to its &#8220;Covered List&#8221; of communications equipment deemed to pose “unacceptable risks to U.S. national security.”
The move follows a Trump administration review, which found that foreign-produced drones could enable unauthorized surveillance, data theft, and disruptions, threatening U.S. homeland security and the domestic drone industry.
The action, in line with President Donald Trump’s Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty and Unleashing American Drone Dominance executive orders, reflects the administration’s goal of strengthening American drone manufacturing and reducing dependence on foreign — particularly Chinese — technologies. The decision arrives ahead of major upcoming international events hosted in the United States, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America&#8217;s 250th anniversary celebrations, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, when airspace security risks will be elevated.
The updated Covered List includes Chinese drone manufacturers DJI and Autel, as well as all other foreign drone producers. Under U.S. law, the FCC cannot update this list independently and must act based on national security agencies’ determinations under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. Equipment placed on the Covered List is barred from receiving new FCC equipment authorizations, effectively preventing new models from entering the U.S. market. However, this decision does not affect existing drones, meaning consumers and retailers may continue to use, sell, or trade models previously authorized by the FCC.
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U.S. officials framed the action as critical to national and economic security. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr praised the move, saying the agency would “work closely with U.S. drone makers to unleash American drone dominance.” The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also encouraged organizations to use the list in risk management and regulatory compliance efforts.
China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the decision as an excessive use of national security grounds and “discriminatory” toward Chinese companies. DJI <a href="https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-881097">expressed disappointment</a> with the move<a href="https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-881097">,</a> arguing that no supporting evidence for the determination was publicly released. Despite such objections, U.S. lawmakers and officials, including Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR) and National Security Council’s Sebastian Gorka, welcomed the measure as a necessary step to ensure drones vital to America’s defense are “made in the USA.”

FRANCE-GOVERNMENT-DEFENCE-SECURITY-MILIPOL-EXPO

Feds Deem New Foreign-Made Drones ‘Unacceptable’ National Security Risks

China

Drones

A bipartisan coalition of former Federal Communications Commission officials is <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fcc-chair-trump-kimmel-60-minutes-policy-abc-disney-distortion-cbs-rcna243495">demanding</a> that the agency scrap a long‑standing rule they say has become a political weapon — the FCC’s so‑called “news distortion” policy.
The petition, submitted by the liberal activist group Protect Democracy, is signed by seven former commissioners — five Republicans and two Democrats — and multiple senior staffers, all warning that the agency has crossed into dangerous territory by threatening broadcasters over editorial decisions. The policy, dating back decades, authorizes the FCC to penalize stations that “deliberately distort” factual news reports. For years, it was mostly dormant — until Trump‑appointed FCC Chair Brendan Carr began citing it in fights with television networks.
In February, Carr <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fcc-chairman-brendan-carr-continues-013226663.html">invoked</a> the rule when his agency investigated CBS’ “60 Minutes” for allegedly misleading viewers in an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris — a flap that coincided with Trump’s separate $20 billion lawsuit against CBS’ parent company, Paramount, which later settled for $16 million.
Then came the Jimmy Kimmel episode. After the comedian mocked conservatives for supposedly politicizing the murder of activist Charlie Kirk, Carr suggested that ABC affiliates airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live” could face fines or license revocation under the distortion policy. ABC later suspended Kimmel, only to reinstate him a week later after blowback ensued.
In the petition, former FCC heads — including Obama‑era Democrat Tom Wheeler and Reagan‑era Republican Mark Fowler — warn that the agency has “no legitimate interest” in policing speech and is courting lawfare by meddling in content. Gigi Sohn, a longtime media reform advocate who advised Wheeler, argued the rule has morphed from a safeguard against fabrication into “a cudgel,” and that the FCC already possesses other mechanisms to address intentional deception.
Carr insists critics are distorting his words, saying he issued no threat and that stations acted on “business decisions.” Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez claims that Carr’s comments amount to intimidation designed to chill speech before any court challenge.
At stake is whether the FCC, an agency barred from censoring content under the First Amendment, should retain a discretionary rule.

Ex-FCC Officials Claim Carr’s ‘News Distortion’ Crackdown Threatens Free Speech

First Amendment

Free Speech

General

The fallout continues over ABC’s indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel&#8217;s late-night show after his comments on Charlie Kirk, an exclusive Daily Wire investigation dives into the Socialist Rifle Association, and ICE ignites a fresh surge in deportations.
It’s Friday, September 19, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">ABC-Ya: Network Benches Kimmel Over Kirk Remarks</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-974499" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/ABC-Benches-Kimmel-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/ABC-Benches-Kimmel-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/ABC-Benches-Kimmel-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/ABC-Benches-Kimmel-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/ABC-Benches-Kimmel-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/ABC-Benches-Kimmel.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel&#8217;s late-night show “indefinitely” for his remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The outrage: The Kimmel comments that really sparked outrage came on Monday night, five days after Kirk’s killing.
Despite reports that the suspected shooter held left-wing political views, Kimmel <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1968476012871925903">said</a> this: “Hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox and the FBI have described the accused shooter as “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.” The suspect had described Charlie Kirk’s conservative views as “full of hate,” and he was in a romantic relationship with his male trans-identifying roommate.
Yet on Tuesday night, even after the backlash, Kimmel <a href="https://youtu.be/aHT7ICvMtlA">doubled down</a>: “Meanwhile, many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk …”
TL;DR: Kimmel made false statements that he certainly should have known were false in the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death.
What ABC saw: The network acted after some heavy pressure from the major broadcasting companies that air Kimmel’s show on ABC affiliates. On Wednesday, Nexstar Media Group, which carries Kimmel on 23 ABC stations, announced it would pull episodes starting Wednesday.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, another major affiliate operator, demanded an apology to the Kirk family and a donation to Turning Point USA before it would put Kimmel back on the air. On Friday night, its ABC stations, along with those of Nexstar, will be airing a memorial for Kirk instead of Kimmel.
Behind the scenes, ABC reportedly tried to get that apology from Kimmel. But he refused, feeling he had nothing to apologize for. He also allegedly planned to take even further aim at Donald Trump supporters during his monologue on Wednesday night.
View from the FCC: As this played out, FCC Chair Brendan Carr pointed out that broadcast networks are different from print media or cable in that they require licenses from the federal government to operate. Knowingly making false, defamatory statements violates the FCC’s rules.
But that said, there is no evidence that Carr or the FCC has taken any formal action against ABC. And that’s a contrast with the Biden administration, which took formal action against conservative media.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">A Socialist Gun Club?</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-974501" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Socialist-Gun-Club-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Socialist-Gun-Club-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Socialist-Gun-Club-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Socialist-Gun-Club-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Socialist-Gun-Club-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Socialist-Gun-Club.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The Department of Justice under the Biden administration focused heavily on what it called right-wing “domestic terrorism,” and now President Trump is signaling it will focus on radical left-wing movements, such as &#8220;ANTIFA,&#8221; which Trump said he is designating a &#8220;major terrorist organization.&#8221;
Introducing the SRA: The Socialist Rifle Association was founded in 2019 and by the following year, counted 10,000 “comrades.”
It operates through state-based chapters across the country, and says it educates and trains leftists on the use of firearms to protect against “fascists.”
The group was founded by two transgender men, one of whom goes by “she/it.” According to an internal survey, one-third of members identify as anarchists, one-third as Marxist-Leninists, and one-third as LGBTQ. 
It issues membership cards featuring Karl Marx’s face. But perhaps more than anything, it’s wrapped up with transgender politics. Four of its 13 national leaders go by “they” pronouns. 
Links to political violence: A Daily Wire review of federal court records found that membership in the Socialist Rifle Association is a common link in four high-profile incidents of political violence.
A couple of months ago, nearly a dozen people, many of them who identify as transgender, were charged with committing an armed assault on an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas. Benjamin Hanil Song, who was charged with shooting a police officer in the neck in that incident, was allegedly a Socialist Rifle Association member.
Two separate incidents of firebombing Tesla dealerships, one the day of President Trump’s inauguration, were committed by Socialist Rifle Association members, according to prosecutors.
Link to Kirk slaying?: The Socialist Rifle Association told The Daily Wire that Kirk’s suspected assassin is not a member. But it declined to say whether his boyfriend, Lance Twiggs, was, citing confidentiality. The group has a chapter in Utah, where the suspect is from.
Follow the money: It’s structured as a nonprofit incorporated in Kansas, but its federal tax-exempt status was revoked after it failed to file paperwork with the IRS for years. It’s still been operating, so that’s one avenue that perhaps the federal government will look at.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The New Deporter-In-Chief</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-974503" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Reverse-Border-Surge-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Reverse-Border-Surge-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Reverse-Border-Surge-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Reverse-Border-Surge-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Reverse-Border-Surge-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Reverse-Border-Surge.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: According to a new report by The Daily Wire, the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign is surging – with nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants already removed from the country.
The Trump administration has set a lofty goal of one million deportations per year, a target that has never been achieved before. The pace stands at 389,000 illegal immigrants deported so far under this administration. While that&#8217;s not close to one million, it’s a huge advance compared to previous administrations. It even exceeds the record of former President Barack Obama, who was described as the “deporter-in-chief.” It also exceeds President Biden&#8217;s final year in office. 
The Trump administration has hired 10,000 new immigration agents to expedite the process. However, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons recently told The Daily Wire that efforts to encourage self-deportations will undoubtedly reach the goal of one million deportees. The administration has already seen, according to DHS, two million of those.

MRN 9.19.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Kimmel Suspended, A Socialist Gun Club & Deportations Surge

Morning Brief: Kimmel Suspended, A Socialist Gun Club, And Deportations Surge

Charlie Kirk

Chicago

Department of Homeland Security

Deportations

Donald Trump

Guns

Media

Morning Wire

Socialism

As the shock dies down about “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” being suspended until further notice, industry insiders are circulating theories as to why this happened now, when leftists have been left unchecked for years to spread lies about conservatives.
While the Left cries about “free speech” and “cancel culture,” and blames the whole thing on Trump, the truth appears to be a lot more of a logical business decision than it is a massive conspiracy.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/07/11/media/why-fcc-chair-will-continue-to-throttle-paramount-skydance-merger-despite-trump-settlement/">noted</a> on Thursday that Nexstar, one of the massive media companies behind Kimmel’s cancellation, is poised to enter into a $6.2 billion merger with its next-biggest rival, Tegna. The move will be closely watched by the FCC, as it could be seen as violating antitrust laws.
Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-kimmel-show-suspended-charlie-kirk-ae43c600bd0f2a4c7d3c12077e91b211">said</a> Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse.”
The outlet noted how FCC Chairman Brendan Carr was furious over Kimmel’s statements, telling conservative podcast host Benny Johnson that Kimmel’s comments represented “some of the sickest conduct possible,” and that there could be “a path forward for suspension over this.”
“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” Carr said. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
“Clearly, Nexstar is sucking up to Carr,” a telecom lawyer told Fox News correspondent Charles Gasparino on Wednesday. “Kimmel’s comments are noxious, but from a First Amendment standpoint, they would have been protected in the past. He’s a comedian, so how is he distorting the news unless you have a deal to be approved by the FCC?”
Reactions online have been divided on partisan lines, with the Left freaking out over censorship and the Right insisting this is the standard that was set long ago by the same leftists who now oppose it.
The comments from Kimmel that prompted the backlash included the host claiming that Kirk’s assassin was a MAGA supporter. Investigators say that the 22-year-old man arrested for Kirk’s killing was deeply steeped in leftist ideology and disliked the conservative commentator for his beliefs.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his show.
This prompted Sinclair, another major media group, to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live” until further notice.
There’s been a big shakeup in the media since the Trump administration took over. George Cheeks, the president and CEO of CBS, discussed the cancellation of “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert in July 2025. His statements came on the same day that Paramount Global and Skydance Media finalized their $8.4 billion merger.
“The challenge in late night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline,” Cheeks said following the deal closing, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cbs-exec-comments-on-late-show-cancellation-said-it-wasnt-sustainable?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=CBS+Exec+Comments+On+%E2%80%98Late+Show%E2%80%99+Cancellation%2C+Said+It+%E2%80%98Wasn%E2%80%99t+Sustainable%E2%80%99">reported</a>. “We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show, unfortunately the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”
Also in July, Paramount Global agreed to a $16 million settlement in a lawsuit Trump had brought that accused the media outlet of election interference. The lawsuit stemmed from an interview CBS News’ “60 Minutes” conducted with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris one month before the 2024 election. The lawsuit alleged that the interview was edited to make it seem more coherent than it really was.

One Theory About Kimmel Cancellation Has To Do With Major Media Merger

Business

U.S.

Jimmy Kimmel&#8217;s show was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday.
The question is whether that is a result of organic pressure from the crowd, which, if so, is great. I&#8217;m on board.
Jimmy Kimmel is a schmuck. Jimmy Kimmel is the worst. Jimmy Kimmel has been trash for over ten years.
Jimmy Kimmel was the funny guy who used to tell jokes, going all the way back to his days on KROQ 106.7 in Los Angeles. When I was in high school, I was listening to &#8220;Kevin and Bean in the Morning&#8221; because my carpool mates refused to listen to anything else. Jimmy Kimmel was “The Sports Guy,” and he was funny and obviously very talented.
And then Kimmel somehow became a late-night host. He then decided it was incumbent upon him to become, as my friend Guy Benson has said,  the “Woke Pope of Late Night.” He would lecture you every night and be incredibly d***ish all the time.
That was his shtick. He would go on TV and lecture you and be terrible.
There are numerous times that Jimmy Kimmel should have been canceled, where he said things that were so egregious, terrible, and gross that he should have been done.
By the standards of the modern woke media, they should&#8217;ve just dug up his old stuff and gone after him. There&#8217;s old tape from “The Man Show with Adam Carolla” of Jimmy Kimmel simulating groping a woman without her permission and mimicking having sex with her from behind without her knowledge.
That didn&#8217;t get him canceled.
Jimmy Kimmel dressed up in blackface, back in the day. He dressed up as NBA star Karl Malone in blackface. That didn&#8217;t get him canceled.
Forget about his old stuff. He didn&#8217;t get canceled for saying on the air that people should die in hospitals if they took Ivermectin for COVID, stating, “Doctor Fauci said that if hospitals get any more overcrowded, they&#8217;re going to have to make some very tough choices about who gets an ICU &#8230; that choice didn&#8217;t seem so tough to me. Vaccinated person having a heart attack? Yes, come right on and we’ll take care of ya. Unvaccinated guy who gobbled horse goo? Rest in peace, Wheezy.” 
I&#8217;m very happy to see Jimmy Kimmel go, for whatever reason. He was a horror show. His morality is completely backward. His obvious, dripping disdain and hatred for anyone who disagrees with him are perfectly clear and have been clear every night for years. No one could more richly deserve being taken off the air than Jimmy Kimmel.
The question is whether the federal government had anything to do with him being taken off the air. Policy cannot be a blunderbuss.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2283?contentProgram=The%20Ben%20Shapiro%20Show&amp;contentType=ShowEpisode&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Charlie Kirk was killed while advocating for free speech. He was killed while engaging in political debate. And one of the legacies that Charlie Kirk left us with is the necessity for such political debate, the necessity for free speech.
Again, that doesn&#8217;t mean speech without consequences. It means the necessity for debate. And what that requires is that the government not be involved, for example, in shutting down free debate.
So the question with regard to Kimmel is whether this is an organic outgrowth of natural outrage over Jimmy Kimmel, or whether it was forced by the federal government.
Kimmel had said in his monologue: “We had some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from and in between the finger pointing.”
By the time that Kimmel broadcast this on Monday night, it was perfectly clear that it was not true. We all knew. All the evidence shows that the shooter murdered Charlie because the shooter was in a gay relationship with a trans-furry, and had decided that Charlie was hateful because Charlie said that men were not women, etc.
We knew that already. So was Kimmel lying? I believe Kimmel knew he was lying.
I also know that there are a bunch of delusional people on the Left who are trying to pretend that either the shooter had no political motivations at all, which is totally crazy, or that the shooter was MAGA, which is even crazier.
Perhaps in his own head, Kimmel was part of that delusional crew who thought that because the shooter grew up in a MAGA house, that meant he was MAGA, despite the fact that all the evidence shows he was anything but.
So the question is whether these local affiliates canceled Kimmel because they were upset with him, or they canceled Kimmel because they came under pressure from the FCC. 
Nexstar ABC put out a statement:
<blockquote>Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), today announced that the company’s owned and partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future, beginning with tonight’s show. Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC‑affiliated markets. &#8230; Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue. </blockquote>
The question is, was that natural, or was that a result of the fact that Nexstar is currently trying to push a $6.2 billion merger through FCC scrutiny and the fact that the FCC chair, Brendan Carr, seemingly threatened action against Kimmel, ABC, and Disney?
I like Brendan Carr. But the FCC should not be threatening action against ABC or its affiliates or Disney based on Jimmy Kimmel being a jackass. He&#8217;s been a jackass his entire career.
Social censure is perfectly appropriate. The blowback from the public is totally natural and good because Jimmy Kimmel is a schmuck who should have been taken off the air ten years ago.
But I do not want the FCC in the business of telling local affiliates that their licenses will be removed if they broadcast material that the FCC deems to be false.
Why? Because one day the shoe will be on the other foot. I know that we&#8217;ve gotten out of the habit of this. I know that a lot of people on the Right are saying, “The shoe will never be on the other foot, and if it is, the Left will just do it anyway.”
But preemptively breaking things because you believe that the Left is going to break the things still makes the things broken — and you can&#8217;t unbreak them. 
I&#8217;m an advocate of the idea that things that are not yet broken probably should not be.
If we are now in a world where we&#8217;re going to preemptively break the plate because we believe that the bad guy is going to break the plate, all the plates are going to get broken. And regardless of what you do, that&#8217;s going to get used against you. The shards will be used as weapons against you. I promise you, if the FCC is removing local affiliate licenses or threatening to do so, based on Jimmy Kimmel being a jackass, the next time a Democrat is elected, which will happen sooner or later, you will say the FCC should not be involved in this sort of stuff.
I&#8217;m not saying Kimmel shouldn&#8217;t be taken off the air.
I&#8217;m not saying the social sanction shouldn&#8217;t have forced him off the air.
I&#8217;m not saying any of these local affiliates shouldn&#8217;t have said they don&#8217;t want to air Kimmel’s show anymore.
I&#8217;m saying they should have done all that ten years ago. If, best case scenario, the public forces the local affiliates to react and take him off the air, totally legit.
But I do not like that the FCC muddied the waters here. I think it is bad politics, and I think it is bad policy. Because if Democrats win the presidency and you get a Democrat in charge of the FCC, you know which affiliates are going to get threatened.
Let the public be outraged, and let the public outrage organically drive for Kimmel’s ouster.
Legally, you&#8217;ve muddied the waters on First Amendment grounds in much the same way that the Biden administration was threatening Facebook with consequences if it did not remove certain material. 
If you wish to hand power back to the Democrats, what you do here is overreach or at least create the perception of overreach.
So two things can be true at once: I’m very, very happy that Jimmy Kimmel is off the air. He is a schmuck. He&#8217;s the worst. Don&#8217;t let the door hit him on the way out.
But also, the government should not be muddying the waters.
If they do, they put themselves at risk of significant overreach, and that could come back to haunt us.

UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation’s 28th Annual Taste For A Cure

Glad Kimmel’s Gone. But Don’t Overreach.

Cancel Culture

Comedy

Leftists

Woke Culture

Sinclair, one of the largest broadcast companies in the United States, said Wednesday night that it would air a special tribute to Charlie Kirk this Friday in the late-night time slot that Jimmy Kimmel’s show had occupied. 
The announcement came after ABC pulled Kimmel off the air in response to remarks he made about the recent assassination of Kirk in Utah last week. Kimmel’s preemption came just hours after FCC Chair Brendan Carr warned that his agency could take action against ABC affiliates airing Kimmel’s remarks, arguing they failed to serve the public interest.
“Sinclair’s ABC stations will air a special in remembrance of Charlie Kirk this Friday, during the Jimmy Kimmel Live! Timeslot,” the broadcasting company <a href="https://x.com/WeAreSinclair/status/1968471160359645658">said</a>. “The special will also air across all Sinclair stations this weekend. In addition, Sinclair is offering the special to all ABC affiliates across the country.”
Sinclair is the largest ABC affiliate group in the country and plans to keep the suspension in place until it has further talks with ABC. It has ABC affiliates in several cities, including Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Tulsa.
“Sinclair will not lift the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on our stations until formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability. Sinclair also called upon Mr. Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family. Furthermore, Sinclair asks Mr. Kimmel to make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” the company said. 
ABC’s preemption of Kimmel’s show came as Nexstar, another major ABC affiliate owner, declared it would remove the program from its schedule following the host’s remarks about Kirk.
The comments from Kimmel that prompted the backlash included the host claiming that Kirk&#8217;s assassin was a Donald Trump supporter. Investigators say that the 22-year-old man arrested for Kirk’s killing was deeply steeped in leftist ideology and disliked the conservative commentator for his beliefs.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” <a href="https://x.com/newsbusters/status/1967982924986487284">said</a> Kimmel.
Carr praised both Sinclair and Nexstar for their decisions to stop broadcasting Kimmel’s show.
&#8220;Broadcasters have long retained the right to not air national programs that they believe are inconsistent with the public interest, including their local communities’ values,&#8221; Carr said Thursday. &#8220;I am glad to see that many broadcasters are responding to their viewers as intended.&#8221;
Democrats have criticized ABC&#8217;s decision to remove Kimmel from the air, arguing it constitutes an attack on &#8220;free speech.&#8221;
&#8220;America is meant to be a bastion of free speech. Everybody across the political spectrum should be speaking out to stop what’s happening to Jimmy Kimmel. This is about protecting democracy,&#8221; said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Political Activist Charlie Kirk Shot Dead At Utah Valley University

Broadcast Giant To Air Charlie Kirk Tribute In Place Of Jimmy Kimmel On Its ABC Stations

President Donald Trump raged against ABC and NBC on Sunday night, calling them &#8220;the most biased networks in history,&#8221; adding that he was &#8220;totally in favor&#8221; of revoking their broadcast licenses.
Trump ripped the national broadcasting companies in multiple posts on Truth Social, suggesting that the Federal Communications Commission should terminate transmission permits with ABC&#8217;s and NBC&#8217;s local affiliates.
&#8220;Despite a very high popularity and, according to many, among the greatest 8 months in Presidential History, ABC &amp; NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the worst and most biased networks in history, give me 97% BAD STORIES. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115086929873163909">wrote</a>. &#8220;I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!&#8221;
While ABC and NBC don&#8217;t have to be licensed by or pay fees to the FCC, each local ABC and NBC affiliate station must obtain licenses and pay regulatory fees, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-hits-abc-nbc-fake-news-says-hed-support-fcc-revoking-licenses">Fox News</a>. Trump questioned this arrangement in a follow-up post, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115087160158530143">writing</a>, &#8220;Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES[?]&#8221;
&#8220;They should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!!&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Crooked &#8216;journalism&#8217; should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
In April, the Media Research Center <a href="https://www.mrc.org/node/90399">found</a> that the evening newscasts from ABC, NBC, and CBS gave the president 92% negative coverage. The national network coverage of Trump was more negative in the first few months of his second term than during the beginning of his first term in 2017, according to the Media Research Center.
Trump also recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-scores-16m-payout-from-paramount-after-exposing-deceptively-edited-kamala-interview">settled</a> a lawsuit for $16 million with CBS over its editing of a Kamala Harris &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; interview just before the 2024 election. Trump argued that CBS engaged in election interference when it made one of Harris&#8217;s answers sound more coherent.
Brendan Carr, the head of the FCC, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/06/cnbc-transcript-exclusive-fcc-commissioner-president-elect-trumps-pick-for-fcc-chairman-brendan-carr-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-on-the-street-today.html">told</a> CNBC in December that the independent government agency could &#8220;take a fresh look&#8221; at TV networks to see if they are operating in the &#8220;public interest.&#8221;
&#8220;You look on the media side, I think there’s no question that trust in media is at an all-time low. &#8230; And so I think there’s a lot that needs to take place to restore trust and confidence in media. And there’s a role for the FCC, at least on the broadcast side, for instance. They have to operate in the public interest. And I think it’s probably appropriate for the FCC to take a fresh look at what that requirement looks like.&#8221;
Asked if that means he was open to revoking licenses for networks over their &#8220;perceived liberal bias,&#8221; Carr replied, &#8220;Well, look, the law is very clear. The Communications Act says you have to operate in the public interest. And if you don’t, yes, one of the consequences is potentially losing your license. And of course, that’s on the table.&#8221;
&#8220;You’ve got the national networks, for instance, ABC, NBC, CBS,&#8221; Carr said. &#8220;They provide a lot of the content that the actual licensed local broadcasts disseminate. And so we need to look at empowering those local broadcasters to serve their local communities, even if that’s in conflict with the interests of those national networks.&#8221;

Trump Says He’s ‘Totally In Favor’ Of Revoking ABC, NBC Broadcast Licenses

Trump Says He’d Support Revoking ABC, NBC Broadcast Licenses

Legacy Media

A conservative watchdog group is demanding the Trump administration investigate one of the nation&#8217;s biggest satellite television provider over its promotion of DEI and other political activism.
Consumers’ Research sent a letter on Wednesday to the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission arguing that DISH has “entrenched discriminatory practices” that may violate President Donald Trump’s executive orders on DEI. The letter pointed to various employee trainings and initiatives that focused on race and gender. 
“Rather than focusing on consumers, DISH has instead promoted race- and gender-based ideologies in violation of President Trump’s executive orders aimed at eliminating divisive and discriminatory DEI programs in both the public and private sectors,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire. 
Consumers’ Research launched a <a href="https://consumersresearch.org/woke-alert/woke-alert-dish-network/">campaign</a> in July to highlight some of DISH’s woke efforts. 
On a now-deleted <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240721195539/https:/careers.dish.com/about/diversity-inclusion">webpage</a>, DISH said that it wanted to embed DEI into its recruiting efforts, data and analytics, learning and development, talent identification and development, and organizational processes and systems. 
“DISH is committed to embracing a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where every team member is empowered to realize their full potential. While there is still work to be done, our five-part strategy aims to improve diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels — especially systematic — in order to be a workplace representative of the communities we live, work and serve in,” an archived page of the webpage reads. 
Hild’s letter also pointed to an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dishcareers/posts/2145362812209762">unconscious bias</a> training session hosted by DISH’s employee resource groups. This training focused on how companies “need bias interrupters” and taught that “being on a diverse &amp; inclusive team is being on a winning team.”
Employee resource groups hosted by DISH include identity-focused collectives like &#8220;Out at DISH,&#8221; &#8220;African American Network at DISH,&#8221; &#8220;DISH Women’s Impact Network,&#8221; and &#8220;Adelante con DISH.&#8221; Many of these groups have promoted political agendas. 
For example, Out at DISH <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBAISaWuvx5/">promoted</a> the Trevor Project’s “Coming Out Handbook,” which promotes radical gender ideology to kids. That same group also celebrated “Transgender Day of Visibility,” <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6915292412047233024/">urging</a> employees to “take some time to learn more about the transgender community and how you can be an ally.”
Hild’s letter also referenced previously-scrutinized donations from DISH founder Charlie Ergen, which came before the Biden Justice Department dismissed a $3.3 billion civil fraud lawsuit against the network. As the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/22/us-news/doj-moved-to-dismiss-3-3b-fraud-suit-against-dish-after-chairman-charlie-ergen-donated-113k-to-biden/">reported</a>, the Justice Department moved to dismiss the suit in March 2024, just months after Ergen donated $113,000 to the Biden re-election effort.
A spokesman for Echostar, DISH’s owner, argued at the time that the fraud allegations were without merit and pointed out that Ergen regularly donated to members of both parties. 
“As a company subject to FCC oversight and benefiting from federal spectrum allocations, Consumers’ Research urges the DOJ and FCC to investigate DISH’s DEI initiatives for potential violations of President Trump’s executive orders and to assess whether the political activism of the co-founders has improperly influenced regulatory outcomes,” Hild wrote. 
The FCC has already opened up DEI-related investigations into broadcast companies, including Comcast and NBC Universal. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said that the promotion of DEI may be in violation of federal civil rights laws. 
Hild would like to see similar investigations into DISH. 
“Subjecting their employees to DEI training and especially their promotion of radical gender ideology to children is in violation of President Trump&#8217;s policies and DISH should be investigated immediately by the DOJ and FCC,” Hild told The Daily Wire. &#8220;DISH Network needs to be held accountable for turning its company into a vehicle for far-left activism. From DEI mandates to gender ideology and climate activism, it is clear the company has embedded woke politics into every part of its business.”

Dish Network Satellite television company logo seen

Trump Needs To Investigate DEI Push From DISH, Watchdog Insists

Department of Justice

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Trump Administration

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Tuesday responded to the leftist uproar over CBS canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,&#8221; pointing out that the negative reactions to the program&#8217;s demise are one-sided.
&#8220;The partisan left’s ritualist wailing and gnashing of teeth over Colbert is quite revealing,” Carr wrote on X. “They’re acting like they’re losing a loyal DNC spokesperson that was entitled to an exemption from the laws of economics.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The partisan left’s ritualist wailing and gnashing of teeth over Colbert is quite revealing.
They’re acting like they’re losing a loyal DNC spokesperson that was entitled to an exemption from the laws of economics.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1947630093540724934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Many commenters on the social media platform agreed. 
“They ARE losing a loyal spokesperson. They don&#8217;t care about the economics, they care about the messaging,” one account <a href="https://x.com/JeffMarshalek/status/1947965661474414814">replied</a>.
“Socialists don’t understand economics,” another <a href="https://x.com/jackfarrington/status/1947652185497444580">wrote</a>.
“Their desperation is pathetic and (Trump Derangement Syndrome) is terminal,” a third commenter <a href="https://x.com/DogRightGirl/status/1947636188266877113">chimed in</a>.
CBS announced last week that it was canceling “The Late Show” after the upcoming season, which has inspired outsized reactions from the Left. The network described the move as a “purely financial decision.” A recent report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually. 
Colbert went off on an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/go-f-yourself-colbert-unleashes-anti-trump-tirade-amid-report-his-show-loses-40m-annually">expletive-laced tirade</a> during his monologue Monday night, blasting President Donald Trump and CBS. Colbert mentioned how the network’s parent company, Paramount Global, paid Trump a $16 million settlement earlier this month after being accused of election interference. 
“People have been speculating about the timing of this decision from Paramount, and they’re pointing out that last Monday, just two days before my cancellation, I delivered a blistering monologue in which I showed the courage to have a mustache,” said Colbert. “When obviously CBS saw my upper lip and boom, canceled. Coincidence? Oh, I think not. This is worse than fascism. This is stashism.”
“They clarified that the cancellation was purely a financial decision. But how could it purely be a financial decision if ‘The Late Show’ is number one in ratings? A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff’s parents and spouses,” Colbert went on. 
Next, he accused CBS insiders of leaking financial details to justify the cancellation.
“Over the weekend, somebody at CBS followed up their gracious press release with a gracious anonymous leak saying they pulled the plug on our show because of losses pegged between $40 million and $50 million a year. $40 million is a big number. I could see us losing $24 million, but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million? Oh, yeah,” he said, seemingly referencing the amount of the settlement.
Trump has since said that he anticipates an additional $20 million in advertising and public service announcements after new owners take control of Paramount.

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